Papa John’s CEO Says Health Care Law Will Make Pizzas Cost More — Dollars and Sense

The free women’s health services under President Obama’s Affordable Health Care Act may be nice, but according to Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter, those perks and others like them could cost you next time you order a pizza.

Under the new law, Papa John’s, the third-largest pizza chain in the US, must offer health care coverage to more of its employees or pay a government penalty — which means consumers will eventually shell out more for the company’s products.

“Our best estimate is that the Obamacare will cost 11 to 14 cents per pizza, or 15 to 20 cents per order from a corporate basis,” said Schnatter, a Mitt Romney supporter and fundraiser. “If [it] is in fact not repealed, we will find tactics to shallow out any Obamacare costs and core strategies to pass that cost onto consumers in order to protect our shareholders best interests.”

No word on how many of the chain’s 16,500 workers will get health insurance under the new law, but since two slices of a Papa John’s large pepperoni pizza have almost 800 calories, maybe customers would be better off if they just skipped it and took a walk instead.